/11/25 A substitute teacher at Columbus High School in Columbus Junction is accused of using a hidden camera to spy on a female student, with his stepfather facing child pornography charges. According to a news release from the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office, on November 21st of last year a school district employee found a hidden cellphone and charging battery hidden in a small cardboard box that was painted to blend in with the color scheme inside the school.
The owner was identified as 23-year-old Coletrane Alan Sipes of Columbus Junction, who has served as a substitute teacher at the school. A search warrant executed on Sipes’s residence two days later reportedly turned up multiple mini cameras and electronic devices. After a three-month long investigation, it was determined Sipes was taking photos and videos of a specific student while at the school and outside of the school without her knowledge or consent. No other students were involved in the investigation.
Additionally, one of the devices seized at Sipes’s residence was a cellphone belonging to Sipes’s stepfather, Curtis Canny. The extraction of that device showed several sexually explicit images of juveniles that appeared to be downloaded from the internet. No juveniles on Canny’s phone were students of Columbus Junction schools. Sipes has since been placed under arrest for one count of stalking involving a person under the age of 18, a Class C Felony punishable by a maximum of ten years in prison. Canny has been placed under arrest for seven counts of possession of child pornography. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 14 years behind bars. Louisa County officials say the investigation into Canny is on-going and further charges are possible.
The owner was identified as 23-year-old Coletrane Alan Sipes of Columbus Junction, who has served as a substitute teacher at the school. A search warrant executed on Sipes’s residence two days later reportedly turned up multiple mini cameras and electronic devices. After a three-month long investigation, it was determined Sipes was taking photos and videos of a specific student while at the school and outside of the school without her knowledge or consent. No other students were involved in the investigation.
Additionally, one of the devices seized at Sipes’s residence was a cellphone belonging to Sipes’s stepfather, Curtis Canny. The extraction of that device showed several sexually explicit images of juveniles that appeared to be downloaded from the internet. No juveniles on Canny’s phone were students of Columbus Junction schools. Sipes has since been placed under arrest for one count of stalking involving a person under the age of 18, a Class C Felony punishable by a maximum of ten years in prison. Canny has been placed under arrest for seven counts of possession of child pornography. If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 14 years behind bars. Louisa County officials say the investigation into Canny is on-going and further charges are possible.
